Equipment focus: JCB JS200LC excavator

A contractor in South Australia says his JCB JS200LC excavator is saving him up to $400 a week in fuel costs

Sean D’Apollonio runs Mr Dapy’s Demolition in Adelaide, South Australia. The group specialises in asbestos removal and strip-outs, as well as external and internal demolition.

Recently the group was in the market for a new excavator after its old machine was fire-bombed by vandals. D’Apollonio settled on a JCB JS200LC, and says the savings he’s making is help to offset the unplanned replacement.

"The JS200LC was more powerful and much better on fuel. I’m saving at least $200 a week and sometimes double that," D’Apollonio says.

The lower fuel use is due to the excavator’s 129kW JCB Dieselmax 448 engine, which JCB says can deliver fuel savings of up to 20 per cent when compared with similar models. The JS200LC also uses JCB’s ‘auto-idle’ system that can drop fuel use by automatically lowering engine revs when the hydraulics are not in use.

This fuel economy comes at no expense to the machine’s power, with the JS200LC more than capable of handling everything the demolition group could throw at it.

"It copes very well under stress, especially when I’m pulling out oversized foundation then loading them onto semi-trailers. It makes short work of it," D’Apollonio says.

"The whole machine is stronger, faster and better on fuel. I also have a lot of customers that say that it looks really good."

He also noted the reduced noise levels inside the JS200LC. Viscous rubber mounts help to reduce noise and vibration within the cab, achieving sound levels of 72dB(A) inside and 103dB(A) outside the cab.

"Noise levels are a lot better inside the cab and I can see a lot better through the top glass and the side glass compared to the other machines. It is also more comfortable and I like the set-up of where all the buttons are."